Job interviews can be a nerve wracking process, particularly when it’s for your first professional job.
You pull a suit out which you last wore at your school formal, dust off a copy of your CV so you have something to hand over when you turn up, and rock up to be grilled.
There’s probably three people in the room, a glass of water on the table and the first question will be something like “Tell us why you think you are suited to this job.”
They might ask about the subjects you liked most in your degree, your communication skills, examples of teamwork from a part time job, but you know the one question they almost certainly will not ask? Your ATAR.
That apparently life-changing number that you dream or have nightmares about all through high school and which seems to matter so much until you get one, it turns out to be almost totally irrelevant to everyone except your Mum and your gossipy Aunty once you have landed yourself a place in uni.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try your hardest in HSC, or that some courses won’t let you in without a high one. But it means that you should never let yourself think you will be defined by your ATAR.
There’s been a really good example of this over the last couple of weeks. The Universities Admission Centre (UAC) teamed up with UNSW to study the journey of more than 1,500 students and found that students who received an early offer didn’t slack off in their HSC studies. In fact, students with an early offer in their hand performed around 10% better.
This is really significant – early offers have concluded for this year, but if you like the sound of studying at Australia’s leading sports higher education institution, there is great news – we have a degree place ready for you.
We don’t need to see your ATAR to accept you into one of our courses in PDHPE, sports business, dance, football or health – all you have to do is pass HSC.
That’s because higher education should be about where you finish, not where you begin. We strive to set a benchmark for outstanding student support, offering small classes which focus on engaging students and connecting them to future careers.
That’s why we wish you well for your HSC exams, but we want you to relax, knowing there is a place in an ACPE degree ready and waiting for you next year. The latest research suggests that if you know you have a place waiting for you, you might do better – which is what we want for all our students.
If you want reassurance about entry to our degrees, our team is on hand any time to talk. Good luck! The starting line for the rest of your life is right ahead of you.
